Basic Tenets of Puritanism

  • Judgmental God (rewards good/punishes evil)
  • Predestination/Election (salvation or damnation was predetermined by God)
  • Original Sin (humans are innately sinful, tainted by the sins of Adam & Eve; good can be accomplished only through hard work & self-discipline)
  • Providence.
  • God’s Grace.

Then, What were Puritans not allowed to do?

Seven months after gaming was outlawed, the Massachusetts Puritans decided to punish adultery with death (though the death penalty was rare). They banned fancy clothing, living with Indians and smoking in public. Missing Sunday services would land you in the stocks. Celebrating Christmas would cost you five shillings.

What the Puritans did for fun? Contrary to myth, the Puritans did have fun. There were celebrations and festivals. People sang and told stories. Children were allowed to play games with their parents’ permission.

Keeping this in consideration, What are Puritans main beliefs?

Puritan Religious Life

The Puritans believed that God had formed a unique covenant, or agreement, with them. They believed that God expected them to live according to the Scriptures, to reform the Anglican Church, and to set a good example that would cause those who had remained in England to change their sinful ways.

What were the Puritans scared of?

The Puritans’ main fears and anxieties tended to revolve around Indian attacks, deadly illnesses, and failure.

Do Puritans drink alcohol?

Nor did Puritans abstain from alcohol; even though they objected to drunkenness, they did not believe alcohol was sinful in itself. They were not opposed to artistic beauty; although they were suspicious of the theater and the visual arts, the Puritans valued poetry.

Did Puritans believe in divorce?

According to the New England Historical Society, “In 1620, [Plymouth Plantation] leaders decided marriage belonged to the courts, not to the church. Therefore, they concluded, the courts could grant a Puritan divorce.” They often granted alimony to the wife if she was the innocent party.

Are there still Puritans today?

There’s no governing body, no overseeing organization that considers itself ‘Puritans’. Those people who were of that thinking morphed away – the rigidity did not hold up, some members rebelled and left – Thomas Hooker of Connecticut, Roger Williams of Rhode Island – others just drifted away.

What Bible did Puritans use?

The Geneva Bible remained popular among Puritans and remained in widespread use until after the English Civil War. The Geneva notes were surprisingly included in a few editions of the King James version, even as late as 1715.

Which is the best reason for the Puritans spirit of community?

The best reason for the puritans’ spirit of community is they had to work together to be an example for others.

How do the Puritans define truth?

The Puritans define the truth as being the word of God or every verse contained in the scripture. … Puritans believed that the word of God or the Bible was a holy book that could be depended upon for all life’s lessons. Puritans were a group of religious believers who mainly existed in the 16th and 17th centuries.

How did Puritans view witchcraft?

They believed that Satan would select the “weakest” individuals (women, children, and the elderly) to carry out his evil work. 12. Those who were believed to follow Satan were automatically assumed to be witches, which was a crime punishable by death.

Are there Puritans today?

Yes. Any low church calvinistic sect that rejects bishops, surpluses, veneration of the saints and iconography and limits the sacraments to baptism and communion and emphasizes the vernacular Bible and preaching over ceremony and ritual can be accurately classified as a puritan sect.

How strict are Puritans?

Puritan law was extremely strict; men and women were severly punished for a variety of crimes. Even a child could be put to death for cursing his parents. It was believed that women who were pregnant with a male child had a rosy complexion and that women carrying a female child were pale.

Did they really drink that much whiskey in the Old West?

With a high enough proof, Whiskey acted like gasoline on the fire. … Beer was not as common as whiskey, yet there were those that drank it. Since pasteurization was not invented yet, a cowboy had to take his beer warm and drink it quick.

Why do gangsters drink 40s?

Malt Liquor, also known as a “forty,” is a cheap beer of low quality. … Gangsters like to drink forties and pay homage to their dead homies by pouring some of the liquor on the ground. Malt liquor has also become a pop culture fixture in the hip-hop comunity.

How did the Puritans punish lawbreakers?

The first Puritans took with them the bilbo as a way to punish sinners and lawbreakers. According to Alice Morse Earle, the Spanish named it after its place of origin — Bilboa, Spain. They shipped bilboas with the Spanish Armada in anticipation of all the English prisoners they would have to shackle.

What do Puritans think a good wife is?

The ideal Puritan woman was what has sometimes been called a “helpmeet” or a “goodwife.” Women were expected to marry and serve as a godly mother to the children that were born into their households. … But the ideal woman was viewed as subordinate to her husband and silent on most public matters.

Can Puritan ministers get married?

In the 1700s, English Puritans passed an act of parliament making marriage a civil rather than a religious contract. They carried this new marriage concept to the New World where marriage was performed by a justice of the peace, not a minister.

How did the Puritans view love?

Contrary to what many believe, puritans did not view sex as sinful. They saw human sexuality as a gift from God that would bring a married couple closer together.

Why did the Puritans not like the Catholic Church?

To Puritans in 16th and 17th century England, Catholicism represented idolatry, materialism and excess in violation of God’s will. After formally separating from the Roman Catholic Church, the Puritans still felt the Church of England had retained too many remnants of Catholicism and needed to be reformed.

How did Puritans speak?

The Puritans were a group of English-speaking Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritans thought that the English Reformation had not gone far enough. They also did not agree with some of the things the Church of England did.

Why did the Puritans die out?

In terms of politics, as the ruling group in colonial New England, Puritan authority remained supreme until about 1700, when the Salem Witch Trials destroyed the theocracy, which, along with increased immigration of non-Puritans who did not adhere to their religious beliefs, weakened Puritan influences.

How did Puritans interpret the Bible?

The Puritans viewed the Scriptures as authoritative for all issues of faith and morals. They saw it as authoritative in the determination of church order and organization. This high view led them to feel strongly the importance of preaching and declaring the entirety of Scripture to their people.

Did King James change the Bible?

In 1604, England’s King James I authorized a new translation of the Bible aimed at settling some thorny religious differences in his kingdom—and solidifying his own power. But in seeking to prove his own supremacy, King James ended up democratizing the Bible instead.

Did the Puritans worship the Bible?

Arriving in New England, the Puritans established the Massachusetts Bay Colony in a town they named Boston. Life was hard, but in this stern and unforgiving place they were free to worship as they chose. The Bible was central to their worship. Their church services were simple.